Tag Archives | jewish cycling

The Jacoby Rosenfield family first came on the New York Ride and Retreat three years ago, when Paul was looking for a way to get more involved with exercise, and biking seemed like a good option. Rachel is very involved in the Jewish environmental community, and works as the director of the Jewish Greening Fellowship at Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center. The New York Ride seemed like the perfect way to bring together the family’s passion for the environment and Paul’s desire to get back into biking. Paul rode that first ride on an old bike (that he had had since high school!) and loved every second of it. Rachel and their kids, Maayan, 11, and Yonah, 8, attended as part of the Ruach (Spirit) Crew, and Rachel and Paul were both amazed at the community and environment the ride created (dynamic and pluralistic, in Rachel’s words), and how much their family enjoyed being a part of that community. After the family’s first ride, Paul bought a new bike, and they have attended the ride every year since. Last year, Paul completed the century ride for the first time, a huge accomplishment! The whole family has made friends that they […]

After a weekend retreat spent on the historical grounds of Camp Kinder Ring, New York Ride and Retreat participants will spend Sunday biking from Kinder Ring to Eden Village Camp. Much, much younger than our other host camp, Eden Village Camp was founded in 2008, and ran its first summer program just last year. The camp was founded by Vivian and Yoni Stadlin, who imagined a Jewish overnight environmental camp. In their mission statement they explain, “Rooted in the Jewish vision of creating a more environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually connected world, Eden Village Camp is dedicated to providing campers with an incredible summer experience while empowering them to promote a vibrant future for themselves, their communities, and our planet.” (more…)

For the first time this year, Hazon is excited to offer a grant from the proceeds of the New York Ride to AmpleHarvest.org, an incredible organization whose work fits very well with the theme of this year’s weekend retreat: “Food Choices: Why what we eat matters.” In 2008, Gary Oppenheimer became the director of a community garden in his hometown of West Milford, New Jersey, and quickly realized that many of the plot holders were growing more food than they could possibly eat, save, or give to friends, and so were leaving a lot of their produce unharvested. He formed a committee to gather the extra produce and deliver it to local food pantries, and was struck by how difficult it was to find food pantries, as many were unlisted, and did not have websites. Gary knew that nationally, more than 50 million Americans live in food-insecure homes, and more than 40 million Americans grow their own produce, oftentimes more than they can actually use. In 2009, Gary started AmpleHarvest.org to be the link between these two groups – encouraging home gardeners to donate their excess produce to people in need in their communities, and connecting them to local food […]

The educational theme of the New York Ride‘s Shabbat Retreat is “Food Choices: Why What We Eat Matters,” and we are promising participants a fun, relaxing, engaging, and informative weekend at the beautiful Camp Kinder Ring. The schedule for the weekend has now been finalized, so check it out to learn about all the exciting activities, workshops, services and meals – all keeping with the theme of food choices – offered throughout the retreat weekend. Join us for the Shabbat retreat, and here’s what your weekend might look like: After you arrive on Friday afternoon and settle into your cabin, you might choose to learn a bit of Yiddish in an introductory class: Yiddish on One Foot. If you’re more excited by food, you can learn some DIY kitchen skills by attending workshops on pickling, challah baking, and making homemade salad dressings. Or maybe you’ve really been looking forward to the Ride, and will want to learn a bit of bike maintenance in the flat changing workshop. You can choose how you would most like to welcome in Shabbat as there will be several different service options, and we will all join together to light the candles, and to share […]

The New York Ride is Hazon’s longest-running program, and will take place for the eleventh time this Labor Day weekend. Each year, the Ride is an opportunity for Hazon to connect with and support new organizations that are doing work we are excited about, and over the years we’ve been able to support upwards of 80 different organizations. Just as importantly, the Ride has allowed us to build continued, long-lasting relationships with several organizations that we have been involved with from the very beginning, and whose goals and visions are similar to our own. There are several organizations that have received grants from the New York Ride for many years, but only the Teva Learning Center has been a grant recipient for every one of the New York Rides, 2001-2011. (more…)

We want to know, why do you ride with Hazon? We grabbed a video camera and started asking. This week we hear from Ruth Messinger, president and executive director of American Jewish World Service. She has ridden in every New York Ride since its inception. Prior to joining AJWS in 1998, Ruth was in public service in New York City for 20 years, including having served as Manhattan borough president. American Jewish World Service’s Hunger Campaign, Fighting Hunger from the Ground Up, also happens to be a beneficiary of fundraising from the New York Ride. Read more about Fighting Hunger from the Ground Up. Why do you ride with Hazon? Leave your thoughts in the comments! Stay tuned for more videos! Learn More about the New York Ride & Retreat

The New York Ride‘s weekend retreat will take place on the grounds of Camp Kinder Ring, a Jewish summer camp located in Hopewell Junction, New York. Aside from being a beautiful and fun setting for the Shabbaton and start of the Ride, Camp Kinder Ring has a very interesting and unusual history. Camp Kinder Ring was started in 1927 by The Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring, an organization founded in 1900 by Jewish immigrants in New York and still active today, with members across North America. As the number of Eastern European Jews immigrating to the United States grew drastically near the end of the 1800s, it became clear that there was a real need for an organization that would work to preserve the Jewish culture and identity, and to unify the community against the challenges facing new American immigrants. Der Arbeter Ring, or The Workmen’s Circle in English, was founded to meet these challenges, and has evolved with time to adjust to the changing situation of American Jews, while remaining true to its founding principles of Jewish community, the promotion of an enlightened Jewish culture, and social justice. (more…)

Proceeds of this year’s New York Ride will provide grants to several organizations and projects that are in line with Hazon’s mission. Among the major grant recipients is Adamah, which is a program of the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center, located in Northern Connecticut. Adamah connects people to their roots, to the land, to community, to Judaism, and to themselves by providing educational programs and products in order to build a more sustainable world. (more…)

When Donna Kahan first read about Hazon’s New York Ride, she thought it sounded like something she would love to do, but didn’t see how it would work because leaving her kids and husband for Labor Day weekend just seemed too complicated. A resident of Demarest, NJ, Donna had been on the lookout for a new group to bike with since her cycling group had recently broken up. She decided to check out the Hazon training rides. On her first training ride, she met Ezra Weinberg, one of the chairs of this year’s New York Ride. When Donna mentioned to Ezra that she would love to do the ride with her daughter Makayla, she wasn’t sure that, Makayla was quite old enough. Ezra was very motivating, and was able to convince Donna that she and Makayla could definitely do the ride together. The pair got some tips on training a friend who had ridden in the New York Ride before. Since then, mother and daughter have been riding together every weekend in Hazon’s training rides. Makayla is going to be a freshman at Northern Valley Regional High School in the fall. (more…)

The Israel Ride is more than just a bike ride – it’s a week-long fully supported tour of Israel, complete with hotel accommodations, great food, expert tour guides, and a wonderful community of cyclists. For many riders, one highlight of the Ride is the sight-seeing and educational opportunities along the route. The Israeli landscape is full of historic sites, natural features, modern villages, and other points of interest. Unlike a bus tour, when you travel by bike you spend more time absorbing your surroundings. We build in time for all participants to learn about the past, present, and future of the land. [blue_message]For more information about the Israel Ride, please explore the Israel Ride section of our website. [/blue_message] (more…)